On Tuesday, August 31, Madison will be in the national spotlight, as the first ever Alzheimer’s Breakthrough Ride rolls into town on its way to Washington, DC, with a goal of presenting more than 50,000 signatures for a petition urging lawmakers to make Alzheimer’s disease a national priority. Riders will present the signatures to Congress on World Alzheimer’s Day (September 21).

The Alzheimer’s Breakthrough Ride was originally conceived by Alzheimer’s disease researcher Bruce Lamb, PhD. During a casual bike ride last summer, Dr. Lamb pondered the difficulties in getting adequate federal funding for Alzheimer research and became convinced that researchers needed to do even more to fight the disease. He shared the idea of a cross-country bike ride to build support for Alzheimer’s with the Alzheimer’s Association, and now researchers across the country are heading out on the open road. More than 55 riders will travel approximately 4,500 miles through 14 states and 65 congressional districts. Before ending in the nation’s capital, the Alzheimer’s Breakthrough Ride will cross California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

As Americans continue to live longer, Alzheimer’s is quickly becoming the public health crisis of the 21st century. Today, an estimated 5.3 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s and as many as 16 million will have it by 2050. This year, the total annual costs of care for people with Alzheimer’s will be $172 billion and this will rise to more than $1 trillion by the mid-century, with Medicare costs soaring more than 600 percent and Medicaid costs increasing 400 percent. The researchers cycling in the Alzheimer’s Breakthrough Ride have made stopping Alzheimer’s disease their life’s work, but they can’t do it alone.

We hope you will join us on Tuesday, August 31st as we attempt to gain the support we need to make Congress Take Action. For more information, or if you are interested in helping us out that day, please feel free to contact us at 239.7791 or alzwisc@alz.org.